The National Football League sees its Super Bowl halftime show as such a valuable promotional platform that it's asking potential artists — including Coldplay, Rihanna and Katy Perry — to pay the league for the gig, according to a new report.

That would be quite a departure from years past, when the artists essentially played for free, other than having their travel expenses covered.

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the NFL had narrowed its list of 2015 performers down to the aforementioned three, and have asked at least one whether they'd consider contributing post-show tour revenue, or make another type of financial contribution. Those sources told the WSJ that the pay-to-play suggestion was not well-received.

The NFL neither confirmed nor denied the talks, nor did it corroborate the shortlist of candidates to perform at the Feb. 1 event outside of Phoenix. WSJ's report did not specify how much the league was seeking from the artists.

There's no doubt the Super Bowl halftime show does more for the artist than the artist does for the show. Last year's dual billing of Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers drew more viewers than the game itself — 115.3 million compared to an average of 112 million, according to league statistics cited by the WSJ.

And there is precedent for acts to announce and launch tours immediately after the game, which also brings a bump in music sales.

Is the NFL out of line asking artists to pay to play? Let us know in the comments, below.

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